Centenary Tennis: Rising from the Ashes

Summary

Lisa Stone interviews Chris Dudley (director of tennis at Querby’s Tennis Center, Shreveport, LA) and David Orr (athletic director at Centenary College) about the reinstatement of Centenary’s college tennis program for 2024 after a three-year hiatus. The conversation reveals a community-partnership model where a small D-III liberal arts college partners with a high-traffic public tennis facility across the street to share infrastructure, coaching talent, and student-athlete engagement. Centenary paused tennis during COVID due to difficulty fielding rosters with dedicated tennis players (80-90% were dual-sport athletes who didn’t come to play tennis). The reinstatement is part of a broader athletic renaissance that includes bringing back college football after 82 years. The episode doubles as an advocacy piece for Division III tennis as a superior financial and developmental option for most American junior players.

Guest Background

Chris Dudley is the director of tennis at Querby’s Tennis Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he and his wife Amy have served as stewards since February 2020. Under their leadership, Querby’s hosted nearly 60,000 visitors in 2022, received the USTA Outstanding Public Facility Award (one of only 10 nationally), and was among the first eight designees for USTA’s Premier Facility designation. The facility has 11 courts (6 clay, 5 hard) and operates at 100% capacity on weekday evenings and Saturday mornings.

David Orr is the athletic director at Centenary College, a small private liberal arts school (650-850 students) where student-athletes comprise approximately two-thirds of the student body. A Centenary alumnus (Class of 1996, soccer), Orr has been affiliated with the college for 31 years across coaching and administrative roles. He led a 13-month feasibility study to restart football and is now overseeing the tennis reinstatement.

Key Topics

• Why Tennis Was Cut: Centenary’s transition from D-I to D-III changed recruiting dynamics. After legendary coach Jimmy Harrison (grandfather of Ryan and Christian Harrison) retired and successor Todd Killen moved on, Centenary struggled to find the right coaching fit. Rosters were 80-90% dual-sport athletes without tennis as their primary commitment. COVID provided the final push to pause rather than field uncompetitive rosters.

• The Partnership Model: Querby’s Tennis Center and Centenary College are within visual proximity. The partnership involves: (1) Centenary matches played at Querby’s, (2) the hired tennis coach teaching at Querby’s to supplement income, (3) Centenary student-athletes helping with front desk, programming, and officiating at Querby’s and other local facilities, and (4) a long-term master plan for Centenary to build an adjacent tennis facility on land across the street from Querby’s, with reciprocal court-sharing.

• Division III Value Proposition: Orr provides hard financial data: the average Centenary student-athlete receives a 70%+ discount rate (up from 60% in the D-I era), meaning D-III is actually cheaper for families than D-I. He reinforces that there are over 400 D-III athletic departments vs. 200 D-I programs, and that D-III programs can be highly competitive. The D-III experience is described as “holistic” vs. D-I which “feels more like a job.”

• Community Impact: Both guests frame the partnership as primarily benefiting the city of Shreveport and the tennis community rather than their individual institutions. They envision hosting larger tournaments, community events, and expanding court capacity to serve growing demand.

• Coaching Pipeline Crisis: Chris Dudley identifies a “gigantic vacuum” in the tennis coaching workforce — few up-and-coming coaches, insufficient diversity (women, people of color), and an aging existing workforce. He floats the idea of Centenary offering a tennis/racket sports management degree (only ~5 such programs exist nationally, including Ferris State and Hope College).

• Unique Centenary Offerings: All entering freshmen take a semester-equivalent course in August, with half completed in Paris, France — included in standard tuition. The college can craft custom majors, including potential tennis-specific tracks.

Actionable Advice for Families

1. Do not let tuition sticker prices deter you from Division III schools — the average D-III financial aid package often exceeds D-I, sometimes dramatically.
2. Widen the recruiting funnel beyond D-I to include D-II, D-III, NAIA, and junior college programs. The right fit could be in any division.
3. Understand that D-I, D-II, and D-III are not a hierarchy — competitive quality exists at every level, and D-III offers a more balanced student-athlete experience.
4. For families interested in Centenary: visit centenary.edu for admissions tours or contact David Orr directly at gocentenary.com. Retention rates are strong once families visit campus.
5. Consider the long-term career value of programs at smaller colleges where every staff member champions student success and mentorship is deeply embedded.

INTENNSE Relevance

• Facility-College Partnership Model: The Querby’s-Centenary arrangement is a replicable template for communities looking to reinstate or strengthen college tennis programs without building dedicated campus facilities. This model could be documented as a case study for INTENNSE’s advisory work.
• D-III Advocacy: The hard financial data (70%+ discount rates, more programs than D-I) supports INTENNSE’s potential role in educating families about the full landscape of college tennis options.
• Coaching Pipeline: Dudley’s identification of the coaching workforce vacuum — especially the lack of diversity and young entrants — is directly relevant to INTENNSE’s workforce development positioning. The idea of tennis management degree programs is worth tracking.
• Harrison Family Connection: Centenary’s tennis history includes Jimmy Harrison, grandfather of Ryan and Christian Harrison — a network connection point for INTENNSE.
• USTA Facility Designations: Querby’s dual recognition (Outstanding Facility Award + Premier Facility designation) provides insight into USTA’s facility evaluation criteria and community partnership priorities.

Notable Quotes

“Partnerships are more than just transactions, they’re relationships. And meeting Chris and Amy, it just fueled the fire more because of what wonderful people they are.”

“Don’t ever let the sticker shock of a college’s tuition and fees scare you because I don’t know that we have a single student at Centenary that pays that. The average student is on 70% discount of whatever that total price of attendance is.”

“There’s a gigantic vacuum right now. There are very few up-and-coming coaches that aren’t gray-haired like myself. And there’s a giant gap needed of ladies and people of color. Every country that’s involved in tennis is in desperate need of qualified coaches.”